


Together

by sonictrowel



Series: Long Night in the Blue House [35]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: ...I don't wanna give it away in the tags, Flash Forward, Gen, Light Angst, Some Plot, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 04:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10801263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonictrowel/pseuds/sonictrowel
Summary: She raised her arm and glanced at her worn, gold wristwatch.  Plenty of time for a café and a couple of fresh miguelitos from the panaderia before her first lecture.  Not a lot of people were up as early as she was, but the bakers were.She started to turn back from the water to head into town, and her breath caught in her throat.  The thin mist lingering over the pavement in front of her block swirled and parted as a groaning, wheezing vwoorp, vwoorp filled the air.





	Together

[Calderon Delta, 5102]

The first pale light of sunrise danced on the choppy surface of the bay as Amelia crossed the deserted street from her flat to the waterside.  The mottled sandy-red brick of the city behind her was still cast in muted blues, spots of gold lamplight glowing through the lingering haze.  She paused to rest her arms against the rail and look out over the dark water.  This far from the marina, there was little traffic to obscure the view, and it was still early yet to see sailboats.  She savoured the cool salt air and the quiet rhythm of little waves lapping against the stones lining the sea wall.

By noon, the Tarragona Nueva waterfront would be blisteringly hot and swarming with activity.  But this early, before everyone else came to life, was her favourite time.  With everything quiet and still, in that enchanted space between day and night, the potential of the universe felt infinite and immediate.  Like anything could happen, right here and now.  

Amelia sighed.  She’d been stuck in one place for too long; she was going all romantic.

She raised her arm and glanced at her worn, gold wristwatch.  Plenty of time for a café and a couple of fresh miguelitos from the panaderia before her first lecture.  Not a lot of people were up as early as she was, but the bakers were.

She started to turn back from the water to head into town, and her breath caught in her throat.  The thin mist lingering over the pavement in front of her block swirled and parted as a groaning, wheezing _vwoorp, vwoorp_ filled the air.

___

“Dad?” she called out cautiously, stepping over the TARDIS threshold.  The desktop was weird.  Then she spotted the man at the console.

 _“Nardole!_  God, it’s been ages!  How are you?  Where’s Dad?”

“Oh, hello, Milly,” he said, smiling briefly as he waved at her, but his expression quickly fell back to one of consternation.  “The Doctor's, ehm,” Nardole sighed and gestured vaguely toward the interior of the ship, “somewhere.  Brooding.”

She snorted as she hopped down the steps to the console.  “What about?”

He frowned, looking anxious and miserable.  “Don’t you know?”

Amelia hesitated.  “Nardole... when are you coming from?”

“Well, we’ve only just come from Darillium,” he said, his frown deepening.

Oh, shit.  Well, she knew one day this was all going to get very confusing.  Guess that day happened to be a bloody Tuesday, before she’d even gotten her coffee.

“How long ago?”

“A few weeks now.  He said he wasn’t seeing anyone.  He won’t listen to anything.  I finally found your coordinates in his coat pocket.”

“Shall I look for him?” she asked, dropping her messenger bag on a jump seat.

“Better you than me,” he replied, raising his bare brows and returning to fiddling with some monitor on the console.

Amelia sighed quietly and headed down the steps at the opposite end of the platform, reaching out in her mind for some direction.  The TARDIS hummed in happy recognition and she followed the sudden pull to take the corridor on the right.

After a few minutes of walking the labyrinthine passages, she came to a stop outside a set of heavy wooden doors, carved with intricately detailed rows of ogee arches.  Oh, for heavens’ sake.  He wasn’t just brooding, he was _wallowing._

She shoved open the doors to the library and called out into the expansive space, _“Oi, Dad!”_

Her voice echoed up through the open centre of the room, into the ornate dome overhead.  Not exactly the gentlest introduction, but, well... anyway.

The settee and armchairs arranged around the hearth were strewn with open books and loose papers, and a few crumb-covered plates and empty teacups.  At least he’d eaten something.

She heard shuffling and grumbling overhead, every little sound echoing in the empty chamber, and looked up just as the shambling figure of the Doctor appeared over the second floor railing.

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to shout in libraries?” he called down at her, all Scottish and scolding.

“Nah, wouldn’t say they’re much for manners,” she yelled back, grinning.

He grinned back at her.  “Hello, Mils.”

It was so odd seeing this him again.  His hair was all long and fluffy and in an absurd state of disarray.

“Well you’d better come down,” she said, feigning annoyance.  “I’m not coming up there.  I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”

 _“Coffee?”_ he scoffed.  “Since when do you drink coffee?”

“I live on space-Spain.  They don’t do tea so much.”

He sighed in evident exasperation.  “Right, I’m coming.  Go and put the kettle on.”

Amelia smiled to herself and made for the kitchen.

He joined her just after she’d switched on the hob.  He was in a raggedy old hoodie and pyjama bottoms, of all things.  He hadn’t got any shoes on, not even slippers.  This really was bad.

“Alright?” she asked lightly.

“I’m always alright,” he said, scowling and pulling her in for a rather crushing hug all the same.

“Hmm,” she responded, in a tone that said she was not at all convinced.

He kissed the top of her head before holding her back at arm’s length.  “Look at you, Mils.  You’re so young.”

“Ah yes, a little bird told me about that.  You can’t tell me any stuff about older me, yeah?  Even though it was sort of before I was born, so you can tell me the rest of it, I guess… it’s all very confusing.”

“Oh, believe me,” he grumbled, taking a seat at the worktop, “I know.  I suppose I have Nardole to thank for dropping in on you unexpectedly.”

She sat on the opposite stool.  “Good thing, too.  You want to talk about it?”

Her father rested his elbows on the worktop and rubbed at his eyes, sighing.  But when he dropped his hands he gave her an exhausted-looking but genuine little smile.

“I know it’ll be alright in the end.  Cause you haven’t been born yet, but here you are.”

“Here I am,” she said, smiling back at him.

“Don’t suppose you can tell me when?”

“Nope.”

“Then, where am I these days?  And… and your mother?  I uh, I presume she’s… somewhere?”

“Oh, come on, Dad.  It’s _‘spoilers,'"_  she said, with heavy air quotes."And didn’t you check the year?  Mum will be starting her degree on Luna in a couple decades.  My one’s not living in this time.”

“Don’t you see us, then?” he asked, frowning.

She rolled her eyes.  “Don’t worry, you get about.”

There was a pause while he stared down at the worktop before he asked, quietly, “Together?” He glanced up at her, looking faintly embarrassed and so hopeful.

She probably shouldn’t have, but… . “Together,” Amelia replied, smiling.

His whole face warmed with happiness and relief, and the kettle began to whistle.

___

They chatted over tea, Amelia having to repeatedly refuse her father’s multitude of questions.  Honestly, she’d done her share of time travel, but this was her first time being ahead in the whole out-of-order lives mess. _He_ should’ve been the one knowing what was and wasn’t allowed.  But he’d clearly been having a rough go of it, so she couldn’t really blame him.

“Why don’t you stay for a bit?” she asked.  “You can park the TARDIS in my flat.  Poor Nardole looked like he could use a holiday.”

He made a “pff” sound.

“I’ll show you round the city, maybe even go to the beach?  Bet you could stand to see a bit of sunlight.”

He gave her a little smile.  “Alright.  Thanks, Mils.”

She grinned and stood.  “Come on, there’s a bakery a few streets over that does cracking miguelitos.  I was headed there when you dropped in.”

“Don’t _you_ have anything you need to do today?” he asked, standing from his stool.

“Well I have a lecture at nine, but you can just drop me off at nine later, eh?”

He chuckled.  "Yeah, that I can do."  

His face quickly sobered.

"What," Amelia asked, cautiously.  "What's the face?"

"If I'm staying, and if... if...  _they_ come to visit..."

She frowned.  "You don't want to do that."

He laughed sharply.  "Don't I?"

"Think about it.  If you start that now, it's going to be spoilers rubbish for you two all over again.  Mixed-up timelines, back and forth, diaries and lies."

His face was impassive as he looked at her.  "Sounds like someone's already had a chat with you about this."

"Maybe," she replied warily.

"So if I wait, for however long I need to wait... someday we'll all be in the same time and place, in the right order, for good."

"That's the general idea."

"Well, can't argue with that," he said finally, letting out a breath.

"Good.  Now, go and put some real trousers on, I'm not taking you out in public like that."

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise :)
> 
> Don't worry, we haven't just leapt ahead in time permanently, we will return to Darillium! Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.
> 
> Love you all and your comments are so very appreciated!


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